There’s been a murder – and detectives Nyssa and Tegan have gathered the suspects together…

Although you don’t quite realise it going in, this is one of the weirder stories that Big Finish has done. The storyline itself is quite straightforward, as Nyssa (with a bit of help and quite a lot of hindrance from Tegan) gets to the bottom of a mystery. It’s only when you try to imagine any of the scenes from Simon A. Forward’s script that you realise how outlandish it is. Characters that would seem to fit into stories from Beatrix Potter, Tales from Farthing Wood and the adventures of Rupert the Bear are juxtaposed with the humanoid figures of the two companions (and, at an appropriate point, the Doctor) in a way that brings to mind The Happytime Murders (or if you want to be nicer about it, The Muppet Show generally).

Forward carefully ensures that the physicality of the characters is regularly, but not obtrusively, mentioned and narrator Sarah Sutton, in one of her best Companion Chronicles renditions, never gives that aspect undue emphasis… all the while regaling us with a great version of Janet Fielding’s Tegan and Peter Davison’s Doctor as David Roocroft’s sound design helps to sell the apparent normalcy of the situation.

Verdict: An off the wall, enjoyable Chronicle. 9/10

Paul Simpson